Unpredictable
by Kaleyanne
Summary: Is Kaoru really so violent? Kenshin offers a slightly different perspective. Slight preKxK. Here's your challenge, Acey.


Notes: Acey challenged me to write a fic about my least favorite Kenshin character. I don't hate Kaoru... I just don't like her as much as I like Misao, Aoshi, Yahiko, Sano, Megumi, Hiko, etc.   
  
Slight possible KxK. Since they ARE official. And sweet. And cute. And funny. And...  
  
Don't own it. Want to own the Shonen Jump graphic novel, but it hasn't come out yet. Darn.  
  
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Unpredictable  
  
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"Kaoru-san, how perfectly lovely to see you."  
  
Megumi's smooth, cultured voice floated across the yard to where Kaoru was seated, simply enjoying the sun. It was a pleasant day. Yahiko was practicing his techniques, Dr. Gensai was telling Kenshin about the sword wounds a policeman had sustained the night before, and Kenshin was simultaneously offering his opinions on that and teaching Ayame and Suzume the proper way to wash clothes. Sanosuke was probably around somewhere sleeping. Megumi had just finished her morning rounds, and had stopped by to chat.   
  
Kaoru tried not to sigh. Somehow Megumi always ruined her day.   
  
"Good morning, Megumi-san," she said in her most pleasantly fake voice.  
  
But Megumi (as usual) had already turned her attention to Ken-san, and was busy flustering him, much to Ayame and Suzume's delight. They loved their brother Ken, but even they admitted that his wide eyes and surprised squawks were just too funny to resist.  
  
Kaoru scowled. Megumi had nerve. Greet someone and not even await a reply! Hmph. And people got on HER case for being unladylike.   
  
"Kaoru-san?" It was Megumi again. "Kaoru, dear, are you still cooking?" she asked. "Because look, Ken-san's gotten too thin. I think perhaps he should come visit me tonight."   
  
Kaoru scowled. "Kenshin eats perfectly fine!" she snapped. "Don't you, Kenshin?!"  
  
Kenshin let out a quick 'oro!' "Yes, of cour-"  
  
"It certainly doesn't LOOK that way. I'm an expert."  
  
"Well, you can go be an expert somewhere else!"   
  
Megumi's eyes narrowed. "Or perhaps you should go somewhere else to cool off, Kaoru-san."   
  
Kaoru mimicked her. "I LIVE here."   
  
"I think she has a point, Kaoru-dono," Kenshin said quietly, escaping Megumi's death-grip. "Why don't you come with me?" he suggested. "I think we're out of soap," he added, glancing at where Ayame and Suzume were blowing bubbles.   
  
He didn't give her a chance to reply, and strode up to snatch her by the ponytail. He dragged her out the sliding door... where she wriggled free and promptly smacked him.  
  
Kenshin winced, and rubbed his head. "You sure you're a swordswoman?" he asked. "You hit harder than Sano."   
  
Kaoru blushed. 'There I go again,' she thought gloomily. 'I'm too violent.'   
  
Kenshin smiled. "Come on," he said gently.  
  
The two lapsed into a pleasant silence. Kaoru glanced at Kenshin, and smiled softly, seeing how serene he looked.   
  
Kenshin must have felt her looking at him, because he returned the look. "Something wrong?"  
  
"No, nothing!" she said quickly, smiling brightly. Fake bright. Very fake. Kaoru wasn't a person who was good at hiding her feelings, and it hadn't taken Kenshin long to figure that out.  
  
"Are you sure?" he asked. His eyes quickly appraised her facial expression, body language... He tried to figure out what she was thinking.  
  
No such luck.  
  
Kaoru sighed. "All right, all right. I guess Megumi-san riled me up a little."   
  
"You shouldn't let her bother you," Kenshin said matter-of-factly.  
  
"Well, she shouldn't provoke me!" Kaoru defended.  
  
"No, she shouldn't," Kenshin agreed. "She does it because she's insecure."   
  
Kaoru blinked. Megumi? Poised, talented, I-can-watch-blood-and-guts-seep-out-someone's-stomach-and-not-faint Megumi?  
  
"That's right," Kenshin replied, correctly interpreting her look of surprise. "You lost your family, yes, Kaoru-dono?" He didn't wait for an answer. "Megumi-dono lost hers as a child, and more completely. When your father died, you were already fairly self-sufficient, and you had Doctor Gensai to look after you."  
  
"And Megumi was forced into making opium..." Kaoru recalled.  
  
"Yes. She felt utterly helpless. She was just a woman, and she was trapped. Completely out of control." Kenshin ran a hand through his blood-colored bangs and tugged thoughtfully. "And look at her now! Takani Megumi, the famous and respected Lady Doctor, who can heal anything but a broken heart.  
  
"But that feeling of helplessness lingers. She distracts herself from it by arguing with you. 'See?' she tells herself. 'I am in control of one thing.'"  
  
Kenshin's light purple eyes darkened slightly. "Of course, your own insecurities, mild compared to hers, cause you to take her bait. You play into her hand." He shook his head. "I wouldn't have expected it, you're such a free spirit. But I suppose your own insecurities with her stem from not having that spirit reigned in by a mother figure. Since Megumi has the grace and knowledge a cultured lady is expected to have... Well, you know what happens."  
  
"I never noticed..." she frowned.   
  
"Mmm. Most don't," Kenshin replied. "It's very subtle, but it's there, if you know how to look."   
  
Kaoru looked at Kenshin, his purple eyes straying to the trees along the road. Contemplative, probably musing on her and Megumi's behaviors. 'He's awfully clever,' Kaoru thought. 'You'd never guess if you saw what a sweetheart he can be.'   
  
She smiled a true smile for Kenshin. "You sure are perceptive of people," she observed.  
  
"When your life depends on whether or not you can anticipate your enemy..." he trailed off, letting Kaoru fill in the blanks.   
  
Impulsively, Kaoru squeezed his hand. Kenshin jerked slightly, then smiled at her, returning it.   
  
Gently, he reached over and brushed a strand of dark blue hair from his companion's face. "And THAT, Kaoru-dono, is the biggest difference between you and Megumi-dono," he said affectionately.  
  
"What?" Kaoru asked, confused. She'd completely missed it.   
  
Kenshin laughed softly. "You're unpredictable!" he answered, amused. "Any other person... Yahiko, Sanosuke, Megumi-dono... in any given situation, I can tell you exactly what they'll do, and why. But you..." He shrugged. "With you, I'm never sure."   
  
"You're not?"  
  
"Never," he confirmed. "For all my experience reading people, I can never be one hundred percent positive what you'll do.  
  
"Usually, it's easy. If I fight a person once, I know their basic personality by heart, now and forever. Take Sano. Any given situation, he reacts one of two ways: he punches someone, or he panics, because the problem can't be solved by punching someone."  
  
"But I'm not like that?" Kaoru pressed.   
  
Kenshin inhaled, exhaled, trying to explain. "Yeah... I mean, say Yahiko messed up a technique. Sometimes, you'll be sweet and caring, perfectly motherly about it. Others..." The red-haired rogue winced. "Well. You know what you're like."  
  
Kenshin frowned, trying to find a tactful way to say this. He gazed at the flowers lining the road, willing them to share their wisdom. "I think... it stems from the insecurity again. Working so hard to build up your school, and carry on your father's traditions, and then to have Gohei break it apart... On a subconscious, psychological level, I think you blamed yourself. Just as you do when Yahiko can't get something right. It reflects on you as a teacher. And it frustrates you, so... you lash out."  
  
Kaoru's blue eyes darkened. "I wish I wasn't like that. I wish I could reign myself in."  
  
"You shouldn't wish that," Kenshin remarked. "Won't do any good. You are who you are, all there is to it." He squeezed Kaoru's hand, reminding her she hadn't let go. "You'e fine the way you are," he said softly. "I like having someone around who is so unpredictable." He made a face. Kaoru giggled. "It gets dull always knowing exactly how Sano and Megumi-dono's fights will end."  
  
"I guess that is boring," she mused. Her eyes sparkled mischeviously. "Their fights wouldn't be half as much fun to watch then."  
  
Kenshin glanced at her, and raised his eyebrows. He laughed a little, and squeezed her hand again. "It's enough fun trying to figure out when you're going to shock me by saying something like that."  
  
Kaoru smiled. 


End file.
